Controlling International Terrorism: Alternatives Palatable and Unpalatable

Abstract

Operating from the premise that the literature on the control of international terrorism is inadequate, the authors systematically develop general alternatives for mastering international terrorism. Using a representative terrorist incident as the vehicle for considering the general strategies to be followed within the framework of ongoing international terrorism, the authors analyze the incident as a historical event. As such, the event can be set within a given historical context and examined comprehensively from the viewpoint of alternate possible beginnings, strategies to be followed and tactics to be effected within the framework of the incident itself, and systematic consideration of a range of possible outcomes. The authors consider that adequate control of international terrorism and the incidents that reflect its essential character must include strategies encompassing at least factors of politics, law, law enforcement, propaganda, armed military force, psychology, and time.